About Adam Gorightly

For over two decades Adam Gorightly’s articles have appeared in nearly every ‘zine, underground magazine, counter-cultural publication, and conspiratorial website imaginable. Bringing a mischievous sense of Prankster-Discordianism to the zany world of fringe culture, once Gorightly connects his dots, readers are plunged into alternative universes which forever alter their view of ‘reality.’

His landmark work, The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and the Manson Family Mythos(Creation Press, 2009) is considered by some the most comprehensive book on the Tate-LaBianca murders. Far from being portrayed as prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s caricatured bogeyman, Gorightly paints a broader picture of Manson in relation to Hollywood porn films, Anton LaVey’s Satanism, Scientology and the Process Church, MK-ULTRA, designer drugs, and the true Beatles-Helter Skelter story.

An even wilder ride (if that’s possible) can be found in The Prankster and the Conspiracy which examines the remarkable life of Kerry Thornley—a 1960s Zen radical chaos-creator who was quite realistically being groomed as a Lee Harvey Oswald ‘patsy-double’ before the Kennedy assassination. Everyone from Bob Dylan, Robert Anton Wilson, and Jim Garrison make appearances during this no-holds barred adventure.

Adam has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows including Coast To Coast AM, Erskine Overnight, The Richard Syrett Show and Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis. Television appearances include the History Channel’s documentary The Manson Murders.

A sometime musician and composer, Adam has released three albums: Transmissions From A Dying Planet; Songs For Another World and Psychedelic Secret Agent. A collection of his music videos can be found at here.

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22 Responses to “About Adam Gorightly”

dear sir, am currently reading “the shadow…” and it is a very interesting read. after 16 or so books about the family i now feel that i am reading the mother of all family-books. thanks for the effort to puzzle the pieces together!

Could I possibly get an advanced copy of the 40th anniversary edition? I would really like to read this book and now here you are saying there might be a new edition this year. What do you recomment? I am currenty reading Sex And Rockets, The Occult World Of Jack Parson. I am wondering about the connections between Parsons and Manson and I believe reading these 2 books will lead me to them.

I believe I am in possession of an original handwritten notebook of Kerry Wendall Thornley. My mother died in 2004, and it was in some of her possessions. I had no idea what it was, and quite frankly thought it was the ramblings of a person with severe mental health issues. Never the less, it facinated me and I kept it and every now and then get it out to try and figure out who wrote it and what is means. It is just a plain small notebook with something written on each page. I am wondering if you could help me find out if this is actually him. The writing is hard to read at times – mostly printed (as opposed to cursive) and mostly written at a sideways slant on the page. Talks a lot about the JFK assination, the Illuminatti and says some about being in the marines…it just rambles.

It is so refreshing to encounter someone as intellectually warped as I am. Thank the gods of dark matter; I’ve finally found someone that surpasses Hunter S. Thompson and perhaps equals Peter Levenda. I feel secure again. Now, when can I read something new by my latest hero of high weirdness?

Finished Happy Trails to High Weirdness last night and I truly enjoyed the read, except that the ride was over too soon and some of the chapters were re-runs for me. That is to be expected, as I am one of your “mindless sychophants” and devoted fan girls. I only found about 4 or 5 typos in my tree-killer edition, and I really enjoyed being able to turn pages in bed.

Actually whilst I’ve got you pinned in the corner I may aswell take the liberty of appraising you of the speculative research effort I undertook in which I attempted – not without some success I feel – in evidencing the seminal role of the druidic cult of the severed head as an actor in the development of the conspiratorial oligarchy & their arcane milieu where Lodge members & fascist Templars kneel side-by-side to perform acts of obscene fealty between the spread-buttocks of their goat-footed overlords– it ties into Downard, Manson & the Process obviously….

[…] Adam Gorightly, esoteric researcher, interrupts your regular programming to take penetrating look at bizarro world of anti-mason fighter James Shelby Downard in 2008 book, “James Shelby Downard’s Mystical War.” In under a hundred pages, Gorightly mesmerizes with Downardian insights that date to early 20th Century. It’s amazing to read, Downard subjected to mind control humiliation on Jekyll Island, SC in front of the likes of Alexander Graham Bell. A reader puts down book, wondering if Downard was real or fiction, as Gorightly characterizes a “Little Rascal” protagonist from an early age outwitting dull Masonic goons? In fact, rumors lurk Downard was the literary creation of Michael Hoffman, William Grimstad, and Adam Parfrey. The author seems satisfied Downard wasn’t a complete fiction, although admittedly, will never be completely satisfied. The present writer falls into category that Downard kept copious notes of brilliant penetrating insights, but as a purported mind control victim himself, lacked the steady coherence to organize insights into readable articles and books? In any event Downard proves curious enough, Idaho history professor Dr. Richard B Spence, reveals what he could verify about Downard’s life in “Searching for James Shelby Downard.“ The vital statistics scrutinized gleaned from Downard’s “The Carnivals of Life and Death: My Profane Youth: 1913-1935.” Gorightly takes reader through tour of Downard’s writing with chapter-by-chapter treatments of “The Carnivals of Life and Death,” “Skullduggery,” “Call to Chaos” and mother-of-all Illuminati conspiracy theories, President Kennedy’s assassination as masonic sorcery, “King Kill 33.” […]

Hi, Doc. I will have to talk to our corporate offices in regards to the status of the Bongo Broad/Devil Girl “situation.” Unfortunately, we are currently under an injunction preventing us from posting more of these little beauties for the forseeable future. I will keep you posted on developments. Thanks for your support! Best, Adam

Brother, where art thou? I miss your Discordian posts on FB and even your disgusting shares of “What’s for Lunch?”. Are you working on a new book? New music? FB stinks without you even more than it did with you. Hope all is well and the rains haven’t washed you away. Love from Idaho, land of the moose and home of the brainless.